Charity walkers enjoy well-deserved pint

Two charity walkers from Kent have completed a gruelling 80 mile trek from Camber Sands with a well-earned pint at the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham.

Dr Luke Dawes, 43, and childhood friend Rob Sisley, 44, met as choristers at St Paul’s church in Maidstone aged 11. They took on the challenge in aid of the Heart of Kent Hospice and Marie Curie Cancer Care and are on course to raise £5,000.

The pair took on the walk after three months of training, following the death of Rob’s father, Robin, last year from prostate cancer aged 76. The Maidstone-based builder was a regular at Shepherd Neame pub the Dog and Gun in the county town, so the brewery seemed an obvious destination. Robin had been cared for by the Heart of Kent Hospice.

Luke lost his aunt, Pamela to a rare form of lung cancer and she received great care from Marie Curie Cancer Care.

It took four days to complete the challenge, with stop-offs in Folkestone, Sandwich, and Margate. Speaking at the finish line, father-of-three Luke said: “At the end of each day you really felt your body had taken a battering. It was much harder than I imagined. Luckily as a GP, I had access to some great medical to help! We chose the brewery as our finishing point as Robin was a regular at a Shepherd Neame pub. We were delighted with the welcome we got from the brewery staff.”

Bearsted-based father-of-two Rob added: “We wanted to do something in memory of my father and Luke’s aunt, and also raise money for the charities that helped them. We came up with the idea of this walk and decided to go for it. It was very hard, but very rewarding.”